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City staff review 2026 Climate Action & Adaptation Plan progress; warn of federal funding uncertainty
Summary
Staff presented Sacramento’s second annual Climate Action & Adaptation Plan progress report, highlighting gains in renewable energy, EV adoption, and water banking, but warned that changes in federal funding and incentives have slowed local programs and led to the loss or delay of competitive grants.
City staff presented the Sacramento Climate Action & Adaptation Plan (CAAP) second annual progress report to the Planning and Design Commission on April 23, reviewing work across buildings, transportation and water while flagging funding instability at the federal level.
Associate planner Laura Tuller and colleagues outlined 2025 accomplishments: adoption of the Urban Forest Plan and the Streets for People active‑transportation plan; utility progress led by SMUD, which brought a 50‑megawatt solar project (Slowhouse) online and added 101 megawatts of wind from the Hatchet Ridge project; and local gains in electrification, with more than 80% of newly permitted single‑family homes and over 90% of ADUs built all‑electric in 2025, staff said.
Tuller described transportation milestones including an EV blueprint and the Del Rio Trail completion, and water‑sector progress: the regional water bank banked about 68,000 acre‑feet (roughly 23 billion gallons) in water year 2024–25 to increase drought resilience.
Staff also warned of near‑term challenges. Laura Tuller and senior planner Vic Randall said the city has seen nearly $11 million in competitively awarded funding lost or frozen and cited changes to federal incentives that have affected electrification and EV uptake. Commissioners asked for specifics; staff identified a recently terminated EPA environmental‑justice grant (about $1 million) that would have funded neighborhood resilience measures in Meadowview schools and front‑yard greening. Staff said the city has appealed administrative decisions and is pursuing litigation on at least one terminated award.
A volunteer with 350 Sacramento, Rosie Yakub, urged more programs to accelerate electrification in multifamily buildings and suggested permit fee waivers and other local incentives to reduce retrofit costs for renters and low‑income communities.
Commissioners pressed staff for more detail on the federal funding changes and a stronger city lead on tree canopy and equitable implementation; staff said a more quantitative CAP update is planned for 2027 when the CAP itself will be updated.
The presentation is advisory; no commission action was required. Staff recommended continued work to secure stable local funding and to integrate CAP priorities with capital and general planning efforts.
